Chris Beck - The Journey (2018)

Debut album "The Journey" featuring Anthony Wonsey, Eric Wheeler, and Stacy Dillard w/ Special Guest Terell Stafford

Since arriving in New York from his native Philadelphia in 2006, Chris Beck has made a name for himself as one of today’s premier drummers, traveling the world and working with artists as diverse as Cyrus Chestnut, Oliver Lake, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, Wynton Marsalis, Rufus Reid and Macy Gray. With his debut release, The Journey, Beck has given us a recording that honestly expresses his emotions and his respect for the straight-ahead jazz tradition.

For this session, Chris surrounded himself with some of his best friends: tenor saxophonist Stacy Dillard, trumpeter Terell Stafford, pianist Anthony Wonsey and bassist Eric Wheeler. Their camaraderie is immediately evident on the first tune, a driving rendition of Wayne Shorter’s composition "Mahjong." As the tune fades out, you find yourself wanting more — and Chris Beck delivers, filling the album with his own melodic and gospel-tinged compositions interspersed with other jazz standards, including Freddie Hubbard’s "Birdlike" and Quincy Jones’ "The Quintessence."

Chris is obviously a spiritual person, and his faith has sustained him in the face of tragedy — the loss of his son Aiden just weeks before his second birthday. The composition “Waiting for Aiden” is dedicated to his firstborn. Beck also reveals his talent as a vocalist on Eric Clapton’s “Tears in Heaven,” dedicated, as Chris says, to “every grieving parent who is living with a piece of their heart missing.” 

1) Mahjong

2) Ode To Mother Young

3) Teona

4) Byrdlike

5) Hodge-Podge

6) Yeshua (His Love)

7) Quintessence

8) Waiting For Aiden

9) Tears In Heaven

10) My Inner Circle

PHILLY CD Release Party - June 6th @ South, 7:00pm & 9:00pm

CHRIS BECK // DRUMMER from Boat Safety Films on Vimeo.